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Portland Press Herald

May 21, 1998, Thursday, CITY EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL & STATE, Pg. 1B

LENGTH: 892 words

HEADLINE: SNOWE, SCIENTISTS URGE RESEARCH ON RED TIDE; LAST WEEK, MAINE'S DEPARTMENT OF MARINE RESOURCES DETECTED THE FIRST BLOOM OF RED TIDE THIS YEAR.

BYLINE: John Richardson Staff Writer

BODY:

Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe and a panel of marine scientists urged aggressive research Wednesday into the growing threat of poisonous algae and killer microbes in the nation's oceans.

Snowe wants Congress to spend $ 32 million a year, more than double the current level, to study and fight outbreaks of red tide and other toxic algae and microbes such as pfiesteria. The unexplained invasions kill fish and other marine animals and can sicken or kill people who eat poisoned seafood.

On Wednesday, Snowe led a three-hour hearing of the Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries in Washington, D.C., and heard warnings from ocean scientists around the country.

The national focus came less than one week after Maine's Department of Marine

Resources detected the first bloom of red tide this year.

The state has declared it illegal to collect mussels and carnivorous snails from New Hampshire to Cape Elizabeth and Harpswell to Phippsburg because they may be dangerous to eat. The closure remains in effect and officials are now testing clams to see if toxin levels are high enough to ban clamming as well.

''In my state of Maine,'' Snowe said, ''paralytic shellfish poisoning requires the closure of clam flats along the coast each year, costing Maine millions of dollars in lost economic opportunity. More seriously, (it) can be deadly to human beings if the toxins are ingested.''

An outbreak of pfiesteria caused a massive fish kill in the Chesapeake Bay last year and was blamed for health problems in people who came in contact with the organism.

''The conditions may be favorable for another (pfiesteria) outbreak,'' Terry Garcia, assistant commerce secretary for oceans and atmosphere, warned the Senate subcommittee.

The pfiesteria eruption, still not entirely understood, focused attention on harmful algal blooms which have dramatically increased during the last 25 years. ''It's a national problem . . . and the impact on the economy is staggering and it is not being addressed,'' said Garcia.

In addition to the health threat, damage from the microscopic killers is estimated to cost the fishing industry $ 35 million to $ 65 million a year. Contamination also takes a toll on the tourist industry.

While unpredictable and largely unexplained, the outbreaks have been linked to pollution, ocean warming and storms and ocean currents. Ships may contribute to the problem by carrying organisms to new areas.

Improvements in science have made it possible to detect threats that may have existed for a long time, but the phenomenon also is clearly increasing, testified Donald M. Anderson, senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

''It's big and it's growing, and that trend is all the more worrisome in light of rapid population growth in the coastal zones of the country and our heavy dependence on near-shore waters for economics, nutrition and recreation,'' Anderson said in prepared testimony.

Anderson listed major outbreaks of toxic algae that struck along the coast of New Jersey, Long Island and Rhode Island in 1985, North Carolina in 1987, the west coast in 1991 and Texas last year.

Algae blooms can be destructive even when they're not toxic. Scientists on Wednesday described how the die-off of a huge algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana has created a 7,000-square-mile dead zone without oxygen to sustain sea life.

Snowe and Sen. John Breaux, a Democrat from Louisiana, are cosponsors of a $ 32-million-a-year bill. It would boost a core research program by $ 10.5 million a year, finance other studies and grants to states, and coordinate national response to outbreaks.

The bill, which may be expanded based on testimony during the hearing, could go before Congress this summer.

''Even more troubling than the general trend is that science cannot fully explain why this is happening or how to prevent it in the future,'' Snowe said. ''Nor do we know how to eliminate a bloom once it occurs.''

Maine has been monitoring red tide outbreaks since 1958 and frequently closes part of the coast to the harvesting of shellfish that accummulate the toxins in their flesh.

Mussels are especially sensitive and are the first to show levels of the poison called saxitoxin, said John Hurst, who tests shellfish for the state.

On May 14, the state issued a mussel and carnivorous snail closing from Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth to the New Hampshire border. On May 15, the red tide closure was expanded to include the area between Basin Point in Harpswell and Fort Popham in Phippsburg.

Eating a contaminated shellfish first causes lips and extremities such as fingers and toes to tingle. If nothing is done to control the spread of the poison, it can kill a person by paralyzing the brain's signals that tell the lungs to breathe, Hurst said.

Maine has enjoyed several summers with little sign of red tide. But contamination showed up early this year, perhaps because of higher-than-usual ocean temperatures, according to Hurst. No one can be sure how long the latest outbreak will last.

''We had a rest in 1996 and 1997,'' he said, ''but it doesn't look like we're going to have a rest this year.''

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FOR MORE on red tide, see Press Herald Online: www.portland.com

GRAPHIC: PHOTO: color;

Olympia Snowe